Hurst named Manager of the Month

Shrewsbury Town Manager Paul Hurst has been named as Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month for September.

Town won six and drew one of their seven games last month, including a 1-0 victory over second placed Wigan Athletic.

The run of results mean that Town have now remained unbeaten throughout August and September and have gathered 29 points for a possible 33.

Paul was delighted to pick up the award and praised his players’ efforts.

“It’s a proud moment”, Hurst told ShrewsWeb.

“It’s the first award that I’ve had as a Football League Manager, but ultimately it’s the players’ efforts, along with the staff in the background that contribute to me as the manger getting the reward.

“It’s a big thank to them for their efforts, not only this month, but the season so far and hopefully we can continue that.”

Hurst admits that Town’s form has been a surprise, but praised the players’ togetherness.

“It’s a massive surprise to be unbeaten two months into the season”, Paul said.

“We thought we would be better than last year, but to do as well as the players have done is credit to them and their hard work, and I think we’ve surprised everyone, ourselves included.

“We had a good pre-season and we’ve managed to carry that through. The belief and the togetherness has grown and at the minute it’s proving very successful for us.”

Town may be four points clear at the top of League One, but Paul is looking to keep his players grounded and take things one step at a time.

“We are keeping people’s feet on the ground first and foremost”, Hurst said.

“In general we are just maintaining what the players have been doing. We try and set high standards and the players have got on board with everything that we’ve asked of them.

“If we can reach that 50 point mark a lot quicker than we have done in previous seasons then we will reassess and see where we are.

“We have given ourselves a good chance of achieving that a lot quicker this season, so fingers crossed we can get there and then we will look at how many games are left and push on from that.”